Tuesday, 1 November 2011

Espionage Of The Loc at Glasgow King Tut's

This was written by one of our contributors for The Berwick Advertiser. The dickheads didn't print it. There was some stupid shit in it's place. So here it is...

Turns out they did print it. Just a week late...

I couldn't write this review without telling you all about the amazing value of the full package for anyone going up to Glasgow on the bus. £12 for entry to the gig, bus there and back and a copy of Espionage Of The Loc's newest and best recording to date, the It's All To Come E.P. Amazing. Mind blowing. Even without the gig entry you could've had a good night... But all those who missed the gig, missed out on a pretty special occasion it must be said.

Espionage were supposed to be on first, but when Farewell Singapore turned up and had barely sold a single ticket it simply wouldn't be fair on the Berwickers for that still to be the case. So, promoted to second support act, the nights off to a good start for the boys. Farewell Singapore come on, look and sound like Paramore for a bit. Then go off...

Enter Espionage Of The Loc. Their usual friendly banter that seems to be so much more appreciated up there. Maybe the Glaswegians aren't used to it? The place definitely lifted as soon as EOTL took to the stage anyway. Title track from the new E.P. 'It's All To Come' is first. Straight away you can see they're on form and have obviously stuck to their two (at a time) pint rule...

The brilliant 'As The Sun Rises' and 'The Chase' follow. Those in the crowd that are hearing the songs for the first time seem to be dancing and enjoying it as much as the troop of support that arrived from Berwick. It's interesting to see the reaction from these people who have never seen the band before. It all seems to be positive, and Brendan and Co. are really feeding off that and getting more & more into it as the set goes on. Even the security stage side is tapping his feet and bobbing his head. In my many, many years of going to gigs (no more than five...) I'd always say that's a good sign.

At this point, the new and fifth member of the band, Ali Carruthers, jumps on stage. It's only her and the rest of the bands second gig as a five piece, but you'd never notice. So with the addition of sax and keys, there's a whole new layer of sound for the last four songs. 'Cool Dance Man' speeds up the pace and then 'Something Else' brings it back down but really shows the level of musicianship these lot are capable of. It's not all just fun and games you know... We're even treated to some top notch shape throwing from Brendan, Xennon and Liam during penultimate track 'Carrys Her'. There are comedic style boos and sighs as Brendan announces they've only got one song left. As comedic as they sound, it's pretty obvious the crown don't actually want them to leave. 'A Place I Don't Want To Be' wraps up the set perfectly, and the five vacate the stage, allowing Sonic Boom Six to finish the night.

It turned out Espionage only sold five less tickets than the headliners before the night. A successful trip then, lets hope something similar happens in the not too distant future...